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Asia-Pacific allies move to contain China
As China continues to provide its neighbours with worrying evidence that it will not be a passive super power, moves among Pacific and Asian nations to construct a balancing defensive cordon are proceeding with some speed.
In just the last few days, China has trumpeted the first landing of one of its advanced J-15 fighter jets on its refurnished Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
This is a significant step in China's high-speed military modernization program, which has emphasized naval development and the ability to project military power throughout Asia.
The successful aircraft carrier landing is a reminder to China's neighbours, if any were needed, that Beijing has earmarked about $7 billion to build four more carriers.
Some or all of these ships will be based in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety as territorial waters, dismissing claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Also in the last few days, China has marshalled its new passports in an effort to get tacit approval from its neighbours for not only its claims to the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, but also to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and to two Himalayan regions where China has territorial disputes with India.
The new passports contain maps with all these disputed areas shown as Chinese territory.
Vietnam, the Philippines and India have all reacted angrily to this provocation. They figure Beijing is trying to get them to put official immigration stamps in these passports and thus give endorsement to China's claims.
Vietnam is issuing separate visa sheets to visiting Chinese, and India has printed its own map - including as its territory the disputed regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin - on visas issued to Chinese.
Beijing's crude piece of passport chauvinism has not gone down well with many Chinese travellers, who are upset at the immigrations delays and red tape it is causing.
All the indications from the last few years of Beijing's regional diplomatic and military activity is that this kind of goading of China's neighbours is likely to continue and intensify.
The key bulwark to containing China is increasing military cooperation between three major regional powers - the United States, Japan and India. Singly and together, these three are also enhancing military ties with several of the countries of Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia and, indeed, Canada.
The growing U.S.-Japan-India military alliance has been compared - unfortunately, given the outcome - with the "Triple Alliance" between France, Britain and Russia a century ago that was designed to contain an increasingly assertive Germany.
Washington was encouraging its Asian partners - including India, Australia, South Korea - and allies in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and even Vietnam, to take increased responsibility for their own defence in concert with the U.S. even before President Barack Obama announced the "pivot" of his military focus from the Middle East to Asia.
In many ways, the most significant changes in military thinking and policy are taking place in Japan, which since its defeat in the Second World War has followed a pacifist constitution and shied away from anything that might be construed as returning militarism.
But Beijing's assertiveness - and doubts about the reliability of the U.S. as an ally if push comes to shove with China - is leading Japan to reconsider the legal limitations that allow its military to act only in self-defence.
This debate has drawn focus as Japan approaches a parliamentary election on Dec. 16. Polls show strong support for nationalist parties advocating a firm push-back against China, especially against Beijing-sponsored incursions in the Sen-kaku Islands, which China calls the Diaoyutai.
Pre-election polls show the party likely to win the largest bloc of seats, although not a majority, is the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, whose leader, former prime minister Shinzo Abe, is a firm advocate of increased military spending and a stronger defence posture.
If Abe is able to form a governing coalition, it will likely include one or more of the new nationalist parties that advocate a more robust military stance for Japan.
Japan is already in the process of strengthening its military relations with its Southeast Asia neighbours.
This is a tricky initiative because many in the region still have raw memories of Japanese imperialism in the first half of the last century.
So Japan has, where possible, avoided overtly military links and aid. There have been reports in the last few days, for example, that Japan is training Cambodian and East Timorese troops in disaster relief and military engineering.
Similarly, although Japan has still the most potent Asian navy, it has so far restricted its military aid to its China-nervous neighbours to training their coast guards and in some cases providing them with Japan's surplus armed cutters.
Read more: Asia-Pacific allies move to contain China
As China continues to provide its neighbours with worrying evidence that it will not be a passive super power, moves among Pacific and Asian nations to construct a balancing defensive cordon are proceeding with some speed.
In just the last few days, China has trumpeted the first landing of one of its advanced J-15 fighter jets on its refurnished Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
This is a significant step in China's high-speed military modernization program, which has emphasized naval development and the ability to project military power throughout Asia.
The successful aircraft carrier landing is a reminder to China's neighbours, if any were needed, that Beijing has earmarked about $7 billion to build four more carriers.
Some or all of these ships will be based in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety as territorial waters, dismissing claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Also in the last few days, China has marshalled its new passports in an effort to get tacit approval from its neighbours for not only its claims to the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, but also to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and to two Himalayan regions where China has territorial disputes with India.
The new passports contain maps with all these disputed areas shown as Chinese territory.
Vietnam, the Philippines and India have all reacted angrily to this provocation. They figure Beijing is trying to get them to put official immigration stamps in these passports and thus give endorsement to China's claims.
Vietnam is issuing separate visa sheets to visiting Chinese, and India has printed its own map - including as its territory the disputed regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin - on visas issued to Chinese.
Beijing's crude piece of passport chauvinism has not gone down well with many Chinese travellers, who are upset at the immigrations delays and red tape it is causing.
All the indications from the last few years of Beijing's regional diplomatic and military activity is that this kind of goading of China's neighbours is likely to continue and intensify.
The key bulwark to containing China is increasing military cooperation between three major regional powers - the United States, Japan and India. Singly and together, these three are also enhancing military ties with several of the countries of Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia and, indeed, Canada.
The growing U.S.-Japan-India military alliance has been compared - unfortunately, given the outcome - with the "Triple Alliance" between France, Britain and Russia a century ago that was designed to contain an increasingly assertive Germany.
Washington was encouraging its Asian partners - including India, Australia, South Korea - and allies in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and even Vietnam, to take increased responsibility for their own defence in concert with the U.S. even before President Barack Obama announced the "pivot" of his military focus from the Middle East to Asia.
In many ways, the most significant changes in military thinking and policy are taking place in Japan, which since its defeat in the Second World War has followed a pacifist constitution and shied away from anything that might be construed as returning militarism.
But Beijing's assertiveness - and doubts about the reliability of the U.S. as an ally if push comes to shove with China - is leading Japan to reconsider the legal limitations that allow its military to act only in self-defence.
This debate has drawn focus as Japan approaches a parliamentary election on Dec. 16. Polls show strong support for nationalist parties advocating a firm push-back against China, especially against Beijing-sponsored incursions in the Sen-kaku Islands, which China calls the Diaoyutai.
Pre-election polls show the party likely to win the largest bloc of seats, although not a majority, is the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, whose leader, former prime minister Shinzo Abe, is a firm advocate of increased military spending and a stronger defence posture.
If Abe is able to form a governing coalition, it will likely include one or more of the new nationalist parties that advocate a more robust military stance for Japan.
Japan is already in the process of strengthening its military relations with its Southeast Asia neighbours.
This is a tricky initiative because many in the region still have raw memories of Japanese imperialism in the first half of the last century.
So Japan has, where possible, avoided overtly military links and aid. There have been reports in the last few days, for example, that Japan is training Cambodian and East Timorese troops in disaster relief and military engineering.
Similarly, although Japan has still the most potent Asian navy, it has so far restricted its military aid to its China-nervous neighbours to training their coast guards and in some cases providing them with Japan's surplus armed cutters.
Read more: Asia-Pacific allies move to contain China
